Racist graffiti found at Wayne State University bathroom

Racist graffiti was found on the wall of a men’s bathroom at Wayne State University on Thursday. It read, “Fuck y’all n-----s #TrumpsAmerica.”

Deanna Laurette, English professor at Wayne State discovered the graffiti and tweeted a picture of it. Her original tweet has been taken down, but according The South End student publication, Laurette tagged the official Wayne State Twitter account and told her followers: “I’ve been trying to defend the students every way I know how.”

Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson sent an email to all students the next day in response to the incident, reaffirming the school’s position on diversity and acceptance.

“I always find such behavior abhorrent, but I am deeply disappointed this has happened at Wayne State, where we embrace and respect our differences and strive to live by our values of diversity and inclusion,” he wrote. “Such actions will not be tolerated. Not only are they detestable; they are criminal.”

Wilson also assured students a full-scale investigation would be done to figure out who created the graffiti. Anthony Holt, the police chief of the Wayne State University Police Department, sent a similar email, echoing Wilson’s message.

“These criminal acts are subject to prosecution, and we are gathering evidence to help us apprehend the perpetrators,” Holt wrote. “We are also increasing our vigilance to prevent further incidents.”

Last semester, Eastern Michigan University faced a similar situation when racially charged messages were spray painted on several academic and student housing buildings. The graffiti sparked protests and rallies across the EMU campus, demanding more administrative action beyond removing the messages.

According to the Eastern Echo, students assembled at a football game in order to bring more awareness to the issue. This prompted disciplinary action by EMU for the 16 Black students involved, but charges were recently dropped.

Last week, the University of Michigan also dealt with racist and anti-Semitic emails because of an anonymous individual who used an Engineering professor’s account. An anti-Semitic valentine was also distributed by Central Michigan University’s chapter of College Republicans. However, it was later discovered that the creator was not a CMU student.

Back at Wayne State, Wilson’s email conveyed a message that many university administrations are trying to get across to their students in light of recent events.

“In these times of change and uncertainty, passion is understandable, but hatred and violence are not,” he wrote.